Material to prevent brain injuries backed by NFL

16 December 2015

Novel
3D-printed material developed by University researchers receives funding in
NFL-backed Head Health Challenge

Funding has
been awarded to world-leading, US-based helmet designer and manufacturer, Roy
Burek of Charles Owen Inc., to develop a novel material created by researchers
from Cardiff University’s School of Engineering that can improve the safety of
athletes, members of the military and others from brain injuries by better
absorbing and dissipating impact.

The funding
has been awarded by a partnership of the National Football League (NFL), Under
Armour, GE, and the U.S. Department of Commerce’s National Institute of
Standards and Technology (NIST), to support the discovery, design and deployment
of advanced materials.

Charles Owen
Inc. and Cardiff University will use the prize money to fund a 12-month project
that will use state-of-the-art 3D printing and high-performance computing
technology to develop the unique, energy-absorbing material further.

The team is
among four winners to secure an initial $250,000 (£165,000) as part of Head
Health Challenge III, an open innovation competition to advance their work in
developing these materials.

The
multi-layered, elastic material, called C3, has been developed in
collaboration with the University of Cambridge. It can be precisely designed
using mathematical modelling and tested using high-performance computers to
enable it to be ultimately tailored for specific impact scenarios.

This allows
the team to test various designs before building the material with a 3D
printer, which is a much more efficient and cost-effective method compared to
traditional techniques. During the 3D printing process a polymer-based powder
is fused into a specific shape by a laser, which solidifies the material to
form a strong, flexible structure.

Structures
can be designed in such a way that impact energy can be dissipated relatively
easily, making it an ideal material to use in protective clothing and
accessories.

Throughout the year, researchers from the School
of Engineering will work closely with Charles Owen, Inc., to fine tune the
material and test its robustness against a number of different impact
scenarios.

Roy Burek, President & CEO of Charles Owen,
Inc. said: “My grandfather, Charles Owen, started making helmets to protect the
British soldiers in 1911 before moving onto motorcycle helmets in 1925, and
then equestrian helmets (particularly jockey helmets) in 1938.

“This long and illustrious record in
manufacturing innovative products that increase head safety has kept the brand
at the center of helmet development for over 100 years. It has only been in the
past 15 years that our knowledge of how the brain is injured and how to best
protect it has dramatically changed along with the design and manufacture of
helmets. I am thrilled to be part of a project that pushes the development of
totally new protective technologies and materials so that we can better prevent
brain injuries in multiple areas.”

Dr Peter Theobald, a Senior Lecturer at
Cardiff University who leads on the project, said: “Head injury prevention
strategies have remained relatively stagnant versus the evolution of other
technologies. Our trans-Atlantic
collaboration with Charles Owen Inc. has enabled us to pool our highly relevant
skills and expertise in injury prevention, mechanics, manufacturing and
commercialisation.

“This approach has already enabled us to
develop C3 which shows great promise to better absorb the vertical and
horizontal components of an oblique impact.
This highly prestigious award provides us with a platform to continue
developing C3 towards our ultimate goal of achieving a material that
provides a step-change in head health and protection, whilst achieving metrics
that ensure commercial viability.”